Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1887-11-24
LAND. PURCHASES.
Some or the Most Gratifying Products OF
Democratic Poiicv


Democratic Policy.
1ne United States originally com.
prised the old thirteen colonies east OF
the Aiieghenies which fought tho revo-
futlonary war and afterwards became
the thirteen original States. When
the treaty of peace was made at Paris
an 1888 1t was an interesting question
what should be the Western. or rather
the Northwestern boundary, the British
commissioners proposing to draw a line
from Lake Erie to point somewhere
on the Upper Ohio river This would
nave reserved to the mother country
all the magnificent Northwest Terri
tory, as 1T was called, which the old
colony of Virginia had partially con-
quered from the Indians and then
claimed as part of its domain. The
American commissioners insis ed on
the surrender of it to the United
States. and two of them. Franklin and
Jay. declared if it was not conceded
they would return home and leave
matters where they stood Mt the battle
OF Yorktown. The British commits
sioners yielded at last; they could not
foresee the future value and impOr-
Eance of wilderness occupied at the
time by hostile Indians. and, in sur
rendering their claim to it, they
had little conception of what they
were doing. The country, as de-
fined by this treaty, comprised
all the domain south of the St
Lawrence river and lakes on the north
md east of the Mississippi. with the
exception of that part of the present
State of Louisiana east of the river. and
the Territory of Florida-an area of
S27. 500 square miles. This was the be-
ginning. The domain was mag
nificent one and the statesmen of that
day Thought they ever took the
trouble to think about the matter at
Rll-that it was enough for all time.
But they could not grasp the tremen-
dous future that was about to press
upon them. Twenty years later. and
while some of the American commits
sioners who had negotiated the treaty
of Paris were still living. President
Jefferson. by stroke of craftsmanship
which, IN the language of James G.
Blaine, deserves to be COMMUNICATED
by a statue to the Father of Democracy
in st. Louis. bought the Louisiana
territory from France, paying SIS.
900 for it. In telling the Louisiana
territory Napoleon had better idea of
what he was doing than the British
commissioners had when they gave up
the Northwest territory in 1888, but
even Napoleon only dimly discerned
what the wilderness he was parting
inf II nd 10
vast domain lying west of the Missis-
.sippi and north of Texas, Mexico and
California, and extending to British
America, now embracing the States of
Arkansas. Colorado. Missouri. Louis
lana. Kansas, Nebraska Iowa. Mime
sofa and Oregon, the Indian Nation.
aud the Territories of Dakota, Idaho,
Montana, Wyoming and Washington
the whole having an area of LIB,
900 square miles-nearly third
greater than the original domain of the
country.
The next acquisition of territory was
that of Florida, bought from Spain at
"a cost of 100000 by the Monroe
Administration. in 1921. BY this pur-
chase we gained 10000 square miles
of new territory. and secured il contin-
nous line of seacoast from Maine to
the Sabine river.
Texas was annexed in 1915. under
the Polk Administration, givi us an
additional 10000 square miles. Out
of this annexation grew the Mexican
war, under the same Administration
in 1847, which ended in the conquest of
the territory now embraced in part OF
Arizona, California, Colorado. New
Mexico, Nevada, Utah. and small parts
of Kansas and Wyoming. and having
an area of 636 900 square miles.
Under the Administration of Mr..
Pierce, in 1858, we negotiated the
-"Gadsden purchase" as it was called.
by which we acquired an additional
40, 500 square miles, now included in
Arizona.
The next and last acquisition was
that of Alaska. under the Andrew
johnson Administration. in 1868. This
added territory of $4,000 square
miles area to the country. and extended
Its northern limit up within the Arctic
circle. We paid for it 81, 800 900. An
examination of the map will show that
Alaska is the only part of the
public domain separated from
the body of the country. A part
of British America lies between the
two. This awkward arrangement
grows out of the Oregon boundary
treaty of 1916. The British and our
selves both claimed the whole of Ore
gon Territory; we up to latitude "a. 40
and the dispute waxed so warm and war
like that .'Fifty-four Forty or Fight"
actually became an alliterative war
cry; but a treaty WAS finally made ut
Washington, by which the British
1anol-od nm mud 1va hacE.d down, tn tho